ZipBooks Versus QuickBooks for Mac: Who is winning the Game?

Subscription-based accounting software offers several advantages, including regular updates, accessibility from anywhere with an internet connection, scalability, and often lower upfront costs compared to traditional on-premises software.

Popular subscription-based accounting software includes platforms like QuickBooks and ZipBooks.

These platforms provide a range of features, including invoicing, expense tracking, financial reporting, and integration with other business tools.

However they are not the same and there are differences worth knowing including range in price, features, and even level of customer support.

Which is the best for your bookkeeping needs? Let’s find out.

ZipBooks

Designed to be the perfect fit for small entrepreneurs. In other words, startups and micro-businesses that have minimal transactions to record every month can benefit significantly from ZipBooks. It is an excellent ‘starter’ accounting program for entrepreneurs or freelancers and clearly better than using computer spreadsheets or handwritten ledgers.

Dashboard

The ZipBooks Dashboard includes Quick Stats, Accounts Receivable, Key to Bar Graph, and your Business Health Score. Quick Stats is a section that offers an instant snapshot of revenues collected over the past year as well as the previous month’s net income.

A current-to-date accounts receivable balance is displayed, and there is the option to click for more details under the categories of View Report, where you can dig deeper into the Aging A/R stats. A bar graph appears, and the key is explained here. Blue shows revenue, gold is expenses, and green indicates profit.

The green bar shows in red when expenses are more significant than revenue. Business Health Score will show a figure out of 100. If the number is low, you can click on it, and the ZipBooks program will provide suggestions on improving your bookkeeping setup.

Customer Service

While both ZipBooks and QuickBooks provide customer service when compared head-to-head, QuickBooks offers much more than ZipBooks. Here is a look at what each provides:

Zipbooks provides multiple options for customer services, including chat and helpdesk.

All you have to do to reach a ZipBooks support agent is log into your account and click the “Start A Conversation” (lower right corner of the screen). You can search for assistance by typing a keyword or two into the search window. The Accounting Basics section has several FAQs and step-by-step instructions on how to start using this program.

Pricing

There are a total of four different pricing plans. They range from $0 to $125 per month. Here is a look at each:

ZipBooks Starter is free and provides access for one user. It allows you to produce an unlimited number of invoices and unlimited customer/vendor contact tracking. It connects to a single bank/credit card account.

Another ZipBooks Smarter starts at $15 per month, but it gives you the ability to have an unlimited number of users. You can automatically send unlimited recurring invoices and track hours worked by contractors/employees. This program will quickly transfer those hours to customer invoices.

ZipBooks Sophisticated starts at $35 per month and includes everything in the ZipBooks Smarter program with some extras. They include tracking of income/expenses by location/project. You will also be able to create bank reconciliations, and there are advanced reporting features.

The last, ZipBooks Services, is the top level, costing $125 monthly. It provides a dedicated bookkeeper who will categorize all transactions and reconcile bank and credit card accounts, plus one more feature. You will have someone who will prepare monthly financial statements for you.

QuickBooks for Mac

On the other hand, QuickBooks is designed to fit well with any size business and is the best-known of the pair. It has many more features and has a vast network of advisors.

Plus, QuickBooks is used by more businesses than any other software program. It has three different business tiers designed to fit various-sized enterprises. While it is a good fit for entrepreneurs, medium-sized companies, and giant corporations, this program is more expensive. However, it has several more features than ZipBooks.

Dashboard

The QuickBooks Dashboard contains a Left Menu Bar, Sales, Profit and Loss, Expenses, and Invoice tabs. The left menu is a multi-functional menu bar as it gives you access to most program features in the same way keyboard shortcuts would. The sales section gives you a visual of sales figures with an ongoing updated current figure for reference. Then, you can monitor the profit and loss situation of your business without having to run a report for the same data.

QuickBooks offer omnichannel customer support, including chat, phone, email, knowledgebase, guideline, and various tutorials. You can reach a QuickBooks support agent by logging into your account and clicking the ‘Help’ option. You can phone to speak to a support agent six days a week (6 AM – 6 PM PST on weekdays, 6 AM – 3 PM PST on Saturdays).

A free course with video tutorials and written instructions to aid you in setting up your bookkeeping program.

There are a total of three different pricing plans. Here is a look at each of them:

Pricing

Simple Start is $15 per month and allows access for just one user. It will create invoices and track accounts receivable.

The second plan is Essentials, which costs $35 per month and includes all of the features in Simple Smart plus some extras. They have unpaid bill tracking, check printing, and access for up to three users and two accountants. And the third plan starts at $50 per month and comes with all the Essentials features.

Added to this is access for up to five users and two accountants. Additional extras are tracking reports for 1099 contractors, budgeting/forecasting tools, and project tracking.

Ease of Use

Both ZipBooks and QuickBooks for Mac are designed to be user-friendly. Plus, you do not require a bookkeeping background to use or understand how these programs work. Both utilize simple language rather than industry terminology, aiding the user experience. The main difference at startup is the dashboard’s appearance on each program. Here is a look at each of them:

In Conclusion

The decision on which of the accounting software programs, ZipBooks or QuickBooks, is best for your business depends on the size of your business. Both can accommodate any size company, although ZipBooks is probably best suited for smaller entrepreneurs. If you demand more features, then QuickBooks would be your obvious choice.